The Maoris of old suffered from much the same illnesses as we do today, and sought their remedies in the plants among which they lived. They found, for instance, that manuka provided almost a panacea: an infusion of the bark cured constipation, or from the seed capsules, diarrhoea; that the inner bark of the pohutukawa helped to stop the bleeding, and soothed toothache; that the nectar from rata flowers eased sore throats; that the water in which flax roots had been boiled was a good substitute for castor oil.

All over the world an interest in folk medicine has developed as we become increasingly concerned for the protection of our natural environment. Hand in hand with conservation has come a growing feeling that the side effects of the pills we take for rheumatism, or indigestion, or the common cold are more to be feared than the discomforts of the disorder we are trying to cure, and that the old-fashioned remedies are safer and just as soothing.

In this significant contribution to our knowledge of New Zealand's social history, and botany, Christina Macdonald records for the first time much of the medical lore which has until now only been passed down by word of mouth through generations of the Maori people.